


Curiosity

by mrhiddles



Category: Thor (2011)
Genre: Chaptered, F/M, Ghosts, Prompt Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-03
Updated: 2012-03-03
Packaged: 2017-11-01 01:21:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/350421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrhiddles/pseuds/mrhiddles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loki is curious when the cube reacts to Jane's presence more than his own. A small three-shot.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: How curiosity suffers/How you can suffer for Curiosity.
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing.

He’d always been a curious individual. It was what he’d been known for for many years before the others deemed it fit to name him for what he’d truly had a natural gift in.

Mischief.

Lies.

Sometimes even evil. Though rarely did he cross that line. There were less than a handful of times he’d done something he considered to be evil by his own hand.

This particular instance, as per usual, did not breech that line. It was not evil. Though he knew Thor would have a different opinion. He’d have quite a few opinions, actually.

But as Loki found the home of Jane Foster, he couldn’t particularly care.

OOO

The woman was in her very nature a curious thing. Rarely did she sit still, always finding it a nuisance or hindering to her research of the stars and, undoubtedly, the location of his brother. To sit still was to stall, to stall was to cease gaining information.

And to cease that would be to lose Thor.

She studied the sky a countless number of nights, to the point where she lost a good deal of sleep. Her large eyes were ringed in the morning, more times than Loki could count. The need for food to sustain her mortal body often slipped her mind and she went without. But still, she persisted. And he didn’t understand why.

Why should she vie for his brother like this?

Why would she risk her own health to gain a piece of information that would inevitably lead to a dead end?

He noticed she never spoke these questions aloud, though he was certain she thought of them more than once. He could see it in the way her eyes would cloud over midday. In the way that when she was in the midst of explaining an equation to the other two who worked here, her boisterous animation would fade. Dimming until it was extinguished. She would trail off midsentence and the other woman would draw her back to reality. The middle aged man would eye her and nod. As if he knew.

Like the depths of Helheim, they knew.

Loki caught himself…

Did he even know?

No. He didn’t.

OOO

His magic was weakening.

It was an odd thing, and a worrisome one.

He was not sure why it was fluctuating like it was. But it needed to stop. And soon.

He couldn’t risk slipping through into the reality the mortals knew. Couldn’t risk being seen.

Otherwise he would lose the advantage of watching. Of satisfying his curiosity with the woman.

He would lose Jane.

OOO

It was upon the twentieth day of his invisible presence that the older man brought back what Loki had seen just the night before. He’d returned with Erik out of a black vehicle, the same they had departed in.

He had invaded his mind. Spoken through him to the dark skinned man named Fury.

It was on this morning, the hours barely breaking that of dawn when he felt the shift in his very being. The space within himself that he manipulated and drew upon for his magic. His sorcery. Himself. It was this morning that he felt his powers not only steady but increase with a surge that grabbed from him his very breath.

His whole body shook with the effort of continuing to conceal himself from the mortals, simply because the power was so overwhelmingly present.

Turning blazing jade to Erik, Loki saw what he’d brought with him. What Loki had known he’d brought with him.

The cube.

And he was showing it to Jane. She reached tentative fingers to barely graze the surface of the object. For a reason unknown to him, he felt it as if it was his own source of magic she had skimmed the surface of.

Bracing himself, he fled the building and moved until he was well out of sight of the small desert city and unveiled himself to this realm. And he collapsed upon the sand, gripping his nails into the millions of small rocks. He breathed. And choked. Sucking in a shaky breath, he fisted the earth and thought.

The power of that cube. Why had it magnified like that?

Why? Again, that damnable question.

He knelt there for a long while, absorbing the rising heat from the orb of light overhead. Knew it for a star not a tenth of the power of Asgards’.

For the life of him, he could not imagine why he envisioned his brother and him as children at this moment. Gritted the memory down between clenched teeth and forced his mind to focus absolutely upon the cube. On why it affected him like this now, when it hadn’t the first time.

On why Jane, in all her curiosity, was causing this anomaly.

And then just like that, the onslaught of rushing power eluded him. It escaped his presence, and was suddenly gone from him. He immediately closed his magic off, locking it away to the depths of his being. He couldn’t afford to lose control of his magic again. He only used what little it took to conceal himself once more and stay concealed.

Rising on shaking limbs from the residual force, he stood and returned to the building.

He needed to know why.

And until then, he wouldn’t let Jane out of his sight.


	2. Chapter 2

The weeks were long as he studied them. The days short and hot and the nights dreary and cold. Even for him. The abrupt weather seemed the norm for the woman however, and she often only allowed herself a thin blanket or a simple jacket. There was something else too.

She’d started sleeping in the building they used as a lab.

His sleeping place.

It all started when after the occurrence with the cube. When she had barely touched the surface of the glowing, powerful object, and he’d almost lost control of his own abilities.

And as he watched her take up residence on the plush chair he’d been using these past weeks, again, he was left with one question. 

Why?

Why had it reacted so violently to him when she had been the one to make contact with it? He’d not dared even think of touching it himself. Not after this. It would be catastrophic in the very least. He had no wish to die anytime soon.

But he needed the cube. He needed it. For what, he wasn’t entirely sure yet…he just knew that to have a sustainable future worthy of the ones he’d called family for so many millennia, that he needed to be in possession of the dangerous artifact. Surely he would be forgiven if he graced the vault of Asgard with the thing. He would certainly be forgiven and gain the favor of Odin all in one swing, if only he had…

Wait.

Another idea occurred to him while he watched Jane sink into her dreams. What if he managed to find a way to harness the power of the cube for himself?

Use it to build up his name so that glory and respect would follow in the hearts of whoever had spoken it. If he left a mark on this world, then he would be the worthy son, equal to Thor.

There was no further use for Jotunheim. He wanted nothing to do with them anymore.

And Asgard would forever be Thor’s kingdom.

The other realms weren’t high on his list…for he was here on Midgard. No way of transport, save for the cube’s mysterious power, whatever it may be. But what better way to catch Thor’s attention then to rule over the world that was the very home of the woman who so heartily sought him out?

Loki’s attention was drawn to her as she moved in her sleep to her side, the blanket leaving the skin of her neck and collarbones exposed as she stretched out subconsciously. His eyes were drawn to the flesh exposed, trailed back up to her face, watched her lashes flutter as her eyes moved underneath the lids. She was dreaming.

He left before he heard what he knew she would eventually mumble.

He hadn’t dreamt of Asgard in a long time. So why should he have any right to stick around and watch as someone else did? None at all.

That’s what he told himself.

OOO

The cube was gone.

Fury had come and gathered it up, arriving and leaving all in the span of a few short sentences of explanation. The mention of some mortal deemed Tony Stark. Jane was despairing, he knew the look in her eyes, but she only nodded without any words of either consent, or refusal. She merely watched as they took from her the very source of her hope.

And as he watched her, he could not explain the sadness that lingered inside him. For her.

He did not dwell on it. 

The only thing that mattered was that the cube was out of his reach at the moment. And though it was his only form of redemption; losing it for the moment was, in a way, his greatest relief.

OOO

He knew why.

It was because, for some…inexplicable reason, Thor had affected the mortal in a way that was…beyond his understanding. Something had shifted. Something had changed in the magical makeup of the woman’s very core of her being.

And Loki’s presence was simply magnifying that.

Combine this bizarre turn of events with the power of the cube and you had hell on Earth.

He needed the cube.

He no longer needed Jane to get that. He knew what he needed to do to fix this little issue, and that was to leave.

To get as far away from her as he could.

He chose not to observe her that night for he knew he would see the shine of her eyes, reinvigorated with the discovery of the cube. She had been going to Fury’s lab for about a week now and already, he saw the difference in her. She was again hoping. And he yearned to see her with that indelible passion. But no.

It pained him to leave her. Yes. He would admit that, to himself.

Loki had a duty to himself above all else. He needed his redemption. He needed to bring about mayhem. If only for a little while. However long it took to gain the attention of those he desired to prove himself to.

This was and always had been his goal. Nothing could stop that.

Not even the woman named Jane Foster and her indestructible spirit that seemed to thrive beyond her mortal flesh.

No. Not even that.

Not her.

No one.

Not even himself.


	3. Chapter 3

She’d muttered for the last three nights in a row.

Slipping out between deep, even breaths, Jane whispered of Asgard. She saw it in her mind’s eye, at least her interpretation of it. Whatever her imagination had conjured for her brought moisture to her lashes in her dreams. Loki could not pull himself away.

Hadn’t been able to since the first night she’d said his name.

He’d been curious, naturally, to know why she was dreaming about him. He’d never revealed himself to her and thought it strange for her subconscious to work up that bit of imagery.

So, as he’d prepared to flee her lab and go after the cube he’d given into baser desires to touch two fingers to her forehead. He caught glimpses of what she was dreaming and pulled away when all he saw was random flashes of colorful light and vague forms he knew to be Thor and the man she imagined to be Loki. The clown-dressed fool depicted in those silly fairy tale books Erik insisted upon gifting her with.

The frown on his face had surprised him, but had he expected any different? Of course not. She’d never laid eyes on him.

But still, as he watched her, he felt a heavy pressure upon him for knowing her so well. So well. And yet to know that she knew nothing of him…

Needless to say, his curiosity had gotten the better of him, and he’d stayed. The cube was with Fury. He could sense its limitless power even as he sat here watching her sleep.

He’d claim it when he wanted. Right now, to give in to the need of seeing her dreams was all that concerned him.

OOO

She knew his face now.

He’d slipped subtle images into her brain during the late hours of night, and the thin hours just before she woke. To dream then was to dream the most vividly. And to dream of an image he’d deliberately imprinted upon her night after night was sure to be affective. 

It had satisfied him on some deeper level within himself that she now held an image of him. She would never know where she obtained it. But she would know him.

It brought a smirk to his lips as he left to sleep upon the chair he now called his bed.

OOO

When he’d been resident of Asgard, many months past by this time, Loki had been known to often walk the palace halls in the dead of night. Forsaking sleep to enjoy the silence Asgard so often forgot. The silence Thor so often forgot, with his usual boisterous tempo during the binding hours of sunlight. Loki especially disliked it when he had women in his bed. Those nights he stayed out constant.

But here in this tiny pathetic excuse for a city called Puente Antiguo, Loki found no joy in the silence. The stars were alright, but stood as nothing against the burning memories of the vast nebula’s powdering the sky of Asgard. He missed his realm. He did.

The only relief he found in staying awake, the only reason he did, was to listen to Jane’s fitful sleep.

To hear his name so softly uttered. Innocently. Stumbled over. Shuddered. She knew not to fear him as the others did the legends he’d been worthy of. Whether she refused to acknowledge the sins of his past in her dreams, or was simply too stupid to put them together (which he highly doubted that she was), he did not hold it against her.

He welcomed it entirely.

OOO

The cube was back. Here. In the lab.

And Jane was its primary caretaker.

As soon as he’d discovered the cube was on the move, he’d locked his own powers down and out of the way.

He had waited too long.

His curiosity had been his downfall…as it had been so many other times in his life.

But just as the other times… as he watched her handle the cube with reverence and respect, with slow and delicate fingers that cherished it for what it was, he could not find it in himself to regret it. Even as the presence of source of power so greatly pained him. As he felt next to collapsing every moment of the day.

This mischief had been worth it. Vastly so.

And now he had a chance to take the cube as well.

OOO

The others, Erik and Darcy were gone. Off to the facility of Fury to gather greater equipment that not even they had in their own little makeshift lab. Jane wanted to stay and study, and guard, the cube. So they had left.

It was just them now.

It did not happen often during the day. Only a handful of times did he recount such an event. None of those previous, however, had left Jane alone with the cube. For hours.

It was more than enough time to snatch it away. Could have done it before she even turned around.

But as soon as he’d moved to reach out for it, as soon as his bare fingers feathered over the edge of it for the first time, Jane’s hand had leapt out to do the same. Much faster and with the purpose of note taking. He had lingered, slowing to savor the feel of it against his hand.

And his barrier cracked as his whole being was wracked. He was left with an empty feeling within his lungs, as if the air had been taken from him and his hands went cold. He saw the blue tinge to them as he hurriedly pulled them to his middle, gasping for breath.

But what he hadn’t immediately noticed was that his cracked barrier had shattered. He was left visible to this realm, and all those who dwelled in it.

As he straightened from the shock of the surge of magic he met Jane Foster’s wide, brilliant, and paralyzed gaze. Frozen, the notes she held in one hand clattered to the floor, fingers going limp. Her hand trailed off the cube and her arm fell to her side.

It occurred to him that Jane Foster saw him.

Saw the small shine in her eye, the tilt of her head that he knew was recognition. She knew him.

And as her superb brows drew together and her lips barely parted in confusion, in knowledge, in fear, Loki knew he had to leave. Now.

The first thing he did was take the cube, vanish it with a familiar twirl of his hands and that was it. It was gone. He had it. They never would.

He continued to hold her gaze.

But he saw her in huge, shining brown eyes that she understood the severity of what just occurred. Of who had just appeared before her, taken the cube and then vanished it right in front of her.

Yet still, she stood still, said nothing.

Still, she held his eyes as if he had become the cube. An object of mystery and power to study and behold with cherishing hands and whispered dreams.

For the first time in decades, he felt his resolve waver.

Loki’s eyebrow came up of its own accord, grimacing the slightest bit. He had to go, but why wasn’t he?

Then, her voice directed to him for the first time he’d known of her existence, Jane murmured, “…Loki?” Pupils dilated, lips sealed tight. Her hand came up as if to grab his sleeve, but she refrained. It hung between them, lifeless but withstanding.

A pull strained him. He felt inclined to bow to her, to move towards her. Something much more human than he had ever known stirred within him. He moved.

Standing just before her, he raised one hand slowly, his fingers unbending and coming to hover just beside her face. Much shorter than he, she could do nothing. His very presence, so sudden and foreboding, had her frozen. But her eyes flitted over every single detail of his face, his hair, armor, hand; which was now hesitating next to her temple as if in waiting.

Loki reached out shaking fingers, steadied them delicately against her forehead, moved discreetly over her brow, cheekbone, dipping just under her chin and falling away again, back to his side where they belonged.

“Farewell, Jane Foster.”

She blinked, gasped out some indistinguishable word, but he was gone.

OOO

It had taken everything he had to keep his mind on the cube he was now carrying. Of the redemption that was now possible for him. He could not think of her. Of how it had felt to reach out and touch that which was so very real and warm to this world he did not belong in.

It had taken everything in him not to be swayed by his sumptuous thoughts.

It had taken absolutely everything to not give in to the temptation of his curiosity.

And for that, Loki feared he would eternally suffer.


End file.
